Shilli-Fully Travels

Having lost the test series and drawn the one day series, England headed to St Kitts one up for the final two T20 matches and the end of the tour. The stadium is named after Sir Thomas Warner, the explorer who set up the first colony on the island. The stadium sits within the small capital of Basseterre within a stones throw of the airport in one direction and the port in the other, backed by the mountains that form the backbone of St Kitts.

In contrast to the test match, the atmosphere had far more of a local Caribbean flavour. In the first match England initially collapsed but then recovered to set a ground record of 182. West Indies then just collapsed all out 45, second lowest international T20 score.

We returned two days later with the series won but hopeful for a more competitive match. The ground was shrouded in smoke from a bush fire which we had inadvertently driven through on our way. However the match never caught light as the hosts collapsed again, this time for 71. The locals we sat next to were very unhappy- “our batsmen a’int got no brains”.

While the cricket was disappointing, the same cannot be said of the unique West Indian experience of lunch on the beach before the match and supper at a lobster shack (“we cook what we catch”) on the drive back to our hotel after the match.